6061 (AlMg1SiCu, 3.3214, H20, A96061) Aluminum
6061 aluminum is a 6000-series aluminum alloy: there is significant alloying with both magnesium and silicon, and the alloy is formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 6061 is the Aluminum Association (AA) designation for this material. In European standards, it will be given as EN AW-6061. AlMg1SiCu is the EN chemical designation. H20 is the British Standard (BS) designation. A96061 is the UNS number. Additionally, the AFNOR (French) designation is A-G1SUC. Older literature may refer to this material as CSA GS11N, but this is now discouraged.
It has been in use since 1935, but has only received its standard designation in 1954. This material is well established: the Further Reading section below cites a number of published standards, and that list is not necessarily exhaustive.
The properties of 6061 aluminum include 16 common variations. This page shows summary ranges across all of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare 6061 aluminum to: 6000-series alloys (top), all aluminum alloys (middle), and the entire database (bottom). A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on.
Mechanical Properties
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
69 GPa 10 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
3.4 to 20 %
Fatigue Strength
58 to 110 MPa 8.4 to 16 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.33
Shear Modulus
26 GPa 3.8 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
84 to 210 MPa 12 to 30 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
130 to 410 MPa 19 to 60 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
76 to 370 MPa 11 to 54 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
400 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
170 °C 330 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
650 °C 1190 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
580 °C 1080 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
900 J/kg-K 0.21 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
170 W/m-K 97 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
24 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
43 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
140 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
9.5 % relative
Calomel Potential
-740 mV
Density
2.7 g/cm3 170 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
8.3 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
150 MJ/kg 66 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
1180 L/kg 140 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
3.8 to 81 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
42 to 1000 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
14 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
50 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
13 to 42 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
21 to 45 points
Thermal Diffusivity
68 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
5.7 to 18 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought aluminum alloys, the composition of 6061 aluminum is notable for containing comparatively high amounts of magnesium (Mg) and silicon (Si). Magnesium promotes hardenability through both heat treatment and strain hardening mechanisms. It also increases susceptibility to intergranular corrosion. Silicon is used to increase strength at the expense of ductility. It also lowers the melting temperature and raises the fluidity of the alloy.
| Al | 95.9 to 98.6 | |
| Mg | 0.8 to 1.2 | |
| Si | 0.4 to 0.8 | |
| Fe | 0 to 0.7 | |
| Cu | 0.15 to 0.4 | |
| Cr | 0.040 to 0.35 | |
| Zn | 0 to 0.25 | |
| Mn | 0 to 0.15 | |
| Ti | 0 to 0.15 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.15 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ASTM B308: Standard Specification for Aluminum-Alloy 6061-T6 Standard Structural Profiles
ASTM B247: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Die Forgings, Hand Forgings, and Rolled Ring Forgings
ASTM B483: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Drawn Tube and Pipe for General Purpose Applications
ASTM B210: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Drawn Seamless Tubes
ASTM B211: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Bar, Rod, and Wire
ASTM B547: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Formed and Arc-Welded Round Tube
ASTM B221: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Extruded Bars, Rods, Wire, Profiles, and Tubes
Environmental Degradation of Advanced and Traditional Engineering Materials, Lloyd H. Hihara et al., 2014.
EN 754-2: Aluminium and aluminium alloys. Cold drawn rod/bar and tube. Mechanical properties
Advanced Materials in Automotive Engineering, Jason Rowe (editor), 2012